1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer-assisted vehicle diagnostics and, more specifically, to a system and method of agent self-repair within an intelligent agent system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles, and in particular motor vehicles, frequently incorporate monitoring systems that function to monitor the status of various vehicle components. An on-board diagnostic system (OBD) is frequently utilized in monitoring the engine, emissions, transmission or other key vehicle systems. The information obtained by such a monitoring system may be useful in detecting a vehicle condition, such as a malfunction, or other such abnormal operating condition. A key feature of the on-board diagnostic system is the ability to notify the vehicle operator of the detected vehicle condition. Early detection, diagnosis, or notification of a malfunction is important to the continued operation of the vehicle.
While the on-board diagnostic systems work well, they may not provide information regarding causation. Intelligent agent diagnostic systems are known to collect and transfer data within an electronic system that may be relevant to causation. An example of a multi-agent diagnostic system for a vehicle that can detect and isolate a fault is described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/629,035, filed on Jul. 28, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,950,782, which is incorporated herein by reference. A further example of a system and method of intelligent agent identification for use in conjunction with a multi-agent diagnostic system is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/282,925, filed on Nov. 18, 2005.
The above-described systems and methodologies work well for fault isolation. It also works well in providing security concerning the ingress and egress of an agent to the system. However, it does not provide an agent with a self-repair function. Thus, there is a need in the art for a system and method of intelligent agent self-repair for an intelligent agent system that improves the integrity of the intelligent agent system by allowing for self-repair of agents within the electronic system and thus preventing the dissemination of information from a malicious agent.